SparkNotes: As You Like It: Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Delights of Love As You Like It spoofs many of the conventions of poetry and literature dealing with love, such as the idea that love is a disease that brings suffering and torment to the lover, or the assumption that the male lover is the slave or servant of his mistress. These ideas are central features of the courtly love tradition, which greatly influenced European literature for hundreds of years before Shakespeare’s time. In As You Like It, characters lament the suffering caused by their love, but these laments are all unconvincing and ridiculous. While Orlando’s metrically incompetent poems conform to the notion that he should “live and die [Rosalind’s] slave,” these sentiments are roundly ridiculed (III.ii.142). Even Silvius, the untutored shepherd, assumes the role of the tortured lover, asking his beloved Phoebe to notice “the wounds invisible / That love’s keen arrows make” (III.v.31–32).

But Silvius’s request for Phoebe’s attention implies that the enslaved lover can loosen the chains of love and that all romantic wounds can be healed—otherwise, his request for notice would be pointless. In general, As You Like It breaks with the courtly love tradition by portraying love as a force for happiness and fulfillment and ridicules those who revel in their own suffering. Celia speaks to the curative powers of love in her introductory scene with Rosalind, in which she implores her cousin to allow “the full weight” of her love to push aside Rosalind’s unhappy thoughts (I.ii.6). As soon as Rosalind takes to Ardenne, she displays her own copious knowledge of the ways of love. Disguised as Ganymede, she tutors Orlando in how to be a more attentive and caring lover, counsels Silvius against prostrating himself for the sake of the all-too-human Phoebe, and scolds Phoebe for her arrogance in playing the shepherd’s disdainful love object.

When Rosalind famously insists that “[m]en have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love,” she argues against the notion that love concerns the perfect, mythic, or unattainable (IV.i.91–92). Unlike Jaques and Touchstone, both of whom have keen eyes and biting tongues trained on the follies of romance, Rosalind does not mean to disparage love. On the contrary, she seeks to teach a version of love that not only can survive in the real world, but can bring delight as well. By the end of the play, having successfully orchestrated four marriages and ensured the happy and peaceful return of a more just government, Rosalind proves that love is a source of incomparable delight. The Malleability of the Human Experience In Act II, scene vii, Jaques philosophizes on the stages of human life: man passes from infancy into boyhood; becomes a lover, a soldier, and a wise civic leader; and then, year by year, becomes a bit more foolish until he is returned to his “second childishness and mere oblivion” (II.vii.164).

Jaques’s speech remains an eloquent commentary on how quickly and thoroughly human beings can change, and, indeed, do change in As You Like It. Whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, those who enter the Forest of Ardenne are often remarkably different when they leave. The most dramatic and unmistakable change, of course, occurs when Rosalind assumes the disguise of Ganymede. As a young man, Rosalind demonstrates how vulnerable to change men and women truly are. Orlando, of course, is putty in her hands; more impressive, however, is her ability to manipulate Phoebe’s affections, which move from Ganymede to the once despised Silvius with amazing speed. In As You Like It, Shakespeare dispenses with the time--consuming and often hard-won processes involved in change. The characters do not struggle to become more pliant—their changes are instantaneous. Oliver, for instance, learns to love both his brother Orlando and a disguised Celia within moments of setting foot in the forest. Furthermore, the vengeful and ambitious Duke Frederick abandons all thoughts of fratricide after a single conversation with a religious old man.

Certainly, these transformations have much to do with the restorative, almost magical effects of life in the forest, but the consequences of the changes also matter in the real world: the government that rules the French duchy, for example, will be more just under the rightful ruler Duke Senior, while the class structures inherent in court life promise to be somewhat less rigid after the courtiers sojourn in the forest. These social reforms are a clear improvement and result from the more private reforms of the play’s characters. As You Like It not only insists that people can and do change, but also celebrates their ability to change for the better. City Life Versus Country Life Pastoral literature thrives on the contrast between life in the city and life in the country. Often, it suggests that the oppressions of the city can be remedied by a trip into the country’s therapeutic woods and fields, and that a person’s sense of balance and rightness can be restored by conversations with uncorrupted shepherds and shepherdesses. This type of restoration, in turn, enables one to return to the city a better person, capable of making the most of urban life.

Although Shakespeare tests the bounds of these conventions—his shepherdess Audrey, for instance, is neither articulate nor pure—he begins As You Like It by establishing the city/country dichotomy on which the pastoral mood depends. In Act I, scene i, Orlando rails against the injustices of life with Oliver and complains that he “know[s] no wise remedy how to avoid it” (I.i.20–21). Later in that scene, as Charles relates the whereabouts of Duke Senior and his followers, the remedy is clear: “in the forest of Ardenne . . . many young gentlemen . . . fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world” (I.i.99–103). Indeed, many are healed in the forest—the lovesick are coupled with their lovers and the usurped duke returns to his throne—but Shakespeare reminds us that life in Ardenne is a temporary affair. As the characters prepare to return to life at court, the play does not laud country over city or vice versa, but instead suggests a delicate and necessary balance between the two.

The simplicity of the forest provides shelter from the strains of the court, but it also creates the need for urban style and sophistication: one would not do, or even matter, without the other. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Artifice As Orlando runs through the forest decorating every tree with love poems for Rosalind, and as Silvius pines for Phoebe and compares her cruel eyes to a murderer, we cannot help but notice the importance of artifice to life in Ardenne. Phoebe decries such artificiality when she laments that her eyes lack the power to do the devoted shepherd any real harm, and Rosalind similarly puts a stop to Orlando’s romantic fussing when she reminds him that “[m]en have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love” (IV.i.91–92). Although Rosalind is susceptible to the contrivances of romantic love, as when her composure crumbles when Orlando is only minutes late for their appointment, she does her best to move herself and the others toward a more realistic understanding of love.

Knowing that the excitement of the first days of courtship will flag, she warns Orlando that “[m]aids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives” (IV.i.125–127). Here, Rosalind cautions against any love that sustains itself on artifice alone. She advocates a love that, while delightful, can survive in the real world. During the Epilogue, Rosalind returns the audience to reality by stripping away not only the artifice of Ardenne, but of her character as well. As the Elizabethan actor stands on the stage and reflects on this temporary foray into the unreal, the audience’s experience comes to mirror the experience of the characters. The theater becomes Ardenne, the artful means of edifying us for our journey into the world in which we live. Homoeroticism Like many of Shakespeare’s plays and poems, As You Like It explores different kinds of love between members of the same sex. Celia and Rosalind, for instance, are extremely close friends—almost sisters—and the profound intimacy of their relationship seems at times more intense than that of ordinary friends.

Indeed, Celia’s words in Act I, scenes ii and iii echo the protestations of lovers. But to assume that Celia or Rosalind possesses a sexual identity as clearly defined as our modern understandings of heterosexual or homosexual would be to work against the play’s celebration of a range of intimacies and sexual possibilities. The other kind of homoeroticism within the play arises from Rosalind’s cross-dressing. Everybody, male and female, seems to love Ganymede, the beautiful boy who looks like a woman because he is really Rosalind in disguise. The name Rosalind chooses for her alter ego, Ganymede, traditionally belonged to a beautiful boy who became one of Jove’s lovers, and the name carries strong homosexual connotations. Even though Orlando is supposed to be in love with Rosalind, he seems to enjoy the idea of acting out his romance with the beautiful, young boy Ganymede—almost as if a boy who looks like the woman he loves is even more appealing than the woman herself. Phoebe, too, is more attracted to the feminine Ganymede than to the real male, Silvius.

In drawing on the motif of homoeroticism, As You Like It is influenced by the pastoral tradition, which typically contains elements of same-sex love. In the Forest of Ardenne, as in pastoral literature, homoerotic relationships are not necessarily antithetical to heterosexual couplings, as modern readers tend to assume. Instead, homosexual and heterosexual love exist on a continuum across which, as the title of the play suggests, one can move as one likes. Exile As You Like It abounds in banishment. Some characters have been forcibly removed or threatened from their homes, such as Duke Senior, Rosalind, and Orlando. Some have voluntarily abandoned their positions out of a sense of rightness, such as Senior’s loyal band of lords, Celia, and the noble servant Adam. It is, then, rather remarkable that the play ends with four marriages—a ceremony that unites individuals into couples and ushers these couples into the community. The community that sings and dances its way through Ardenne at the close of Act V, scene iv, is the same community that will return to the dukedom in order to rule and be ruled.

This event, where the poor dance in the company of royalty, suggests a utopian world in which wrongs can be righted and hurts healed. The sense of restoration with which the play ends depends upon the formation of a community of exiles in politics and love coming together to soothe their various wounds. Symbols The Forest of Arden | Shakespeare's Globe Blog the forest of arden By Robin Craig, a Researcher at the Globe As You Like It, performed in Georgian by Marjanishvili Theatre Company © John Haynes What is the importance of the forest of Arden in As You Like It? It is not Shakespeare’s only play that features a move from the court to the woods – A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Timon of Athens do the same – but in As You Like It the forest takes on a special role as a place of inversion, cross-dressing and unsettled gender roles. The escape from the court changes the characters and creates a space of sexual freedom and chaos, where women take control and men learn lessons in romance. In the comedies, the forest becomes a distorted version of the court where social rules are broken, creating a sense of jovial confusion before a return to civilisation in the final act.

‘Gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world.’ Act 1.1 The forest can be defined as a 'pastoral space’ that represents the opposite of urban life in the play, representing the division between the city and the country that was beginning to emerge in Shakespeare’s time. The country was often seen as a place of nostalgia for a simpler time, as shown in Duke Senior’s forest court that echoes tales of Robin Hood. The merry court of the forest is an inversion of the court at the beginning of the play, far from the threats of violence and cruel treatment of Duke Frederick. Danger in the forest of As You Like It is never truly life-threatening but, when considering the role of the forest in other plays such as Titus Andronicus, the possibility of violence draws a long shadow over the plot.

'Alas, what danger will it be to us, Maids as we are, to travel forth so far!’ Act 1.3 When Rosalind and Celia decide to enter the forest, they must put on disguises as 'beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.’ (1.3) The threat of displaying beauty is underscored by the reputation forests had during Shakespeare’s time as spaces where vagrants lived outside society, presenting a danger of sexual violence for women who wandered there alone. For wealthy women, such as Rosalind and Celia, the threat would be even more pronounced as they would be visibly affluent in a place of extreme poverty, fuelling Celia’s decision to dress in 'poor and mean attire’. (1.3) The forest of Arden is a place of comedy but underlying the play is a sense of unspoken danger, drawing on the role of the forest as a place of tragedy and violence that it assumes in Shakespeare’s other plays.

As You Like It, 2009 © John Tramper 'I prithee, pretty youth, let me be better acquainted with thee.’ Act 4.1 Rosalind’s decision to disguise herself as a 'pretty youth’ named Ganymede, rather than mimicking Celia’s peasant dress, allows her a degree of control over her romantic future she would not otherwise have access to as a woman. By leaving the court she leaves behind the pressures of being a noblewoman and is able to express her desire for Orlando, albeit while dressed as a man. That Rosalind must cross-dress in order to express her desires is evidence that the forest can only allow so much freedom: the woman may take control, but only while others believe she is male. Rosalind engages with Orlando in a way that can be seen as homoerotic, creating both the sexual and gender confusion that permeates the forest. Her disguise frees her from womanhood but entraps her in masculinity, meaning she cannot marry Orlando unless she returns to presenting as female.

Gender never truly breaks down in the forest, showing how the pastoral space is still linked to societal values that render women subordinate, values that Rosalind plays into when declaring women 'apish, shallow, inconstant.’ (3.2) 'The duke hath put on a religious life And thrown into neglect the pompous court’ Act 5.4 In the final scene of the play Duke Senior vows a return to the court after witnessing the marriages between the lovers, signalling a return to civilisation, heterosexuality and normative gender presentation. Rosalind’s return to femininity and her marriage to Orlando show an end to the chaos of the forest, but the court they return to has changed drastically from the court at the beginning of the play. Duke Frederick’s conversion into a holy man renders the court back to its 'natural state’ where Duke Senior returns to his rightful position, mingling the worlds of the forest and the court. The exploration of gender and the forest space renders As You Like It one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, using the move to Arden as an opportunity to explore the divides and rules of society. The question remains though – how safely can Rosalind navigate the dangerous space of the forest?

And how far can cross-dressing take a female character while she still lives in a patriarchal society? Further Reading William Shakespeare, As You Like It (Cambridge: University Press, 2009) Albert R. Cirillo, 'As You Like It: Pastoralism Gone Awry’, ELH, 38.1 (1971), pp. 19-39 Carol Thomas Neely, Distracted Subjects: Madness and Gender in S As You Like It Play: Overview & Resources for As You Like It Date written: 1599 Genre classification: As You Like It is a Comedy Main characters in As You Like It: Rosaline is the central character in the play. She is banished by Duke Frederick and goes to the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man, Ganymede. Celia is Duke Frederick’s daughter. She accompanies Rosaline to the Forest. Duke Senior is usurped by his brother, Frederick. He becomes exiled in the Forest of Arden with some of his court. Frederick later relents and Duke Senior is restored to his position. Touchstone is a fool in the Dukes court.

He accompanies Rosaline and Celia to the Forest of Arden. Jaques is a cynical courtier who accompanies Duke Senior to the Forest. He is the speaker of the famous ‘seven ages of man’ speech. Orlando flees from his wicked older brother, Oliver, who wants to have him killed so that he can have his share of his inheritance. The brothers are finally reconciled when Orlando saves Oliver from a deadly snake and a ravenous lioness. Jacques de Boys is the brother of Oliver and Orlando. Dennis is one of Oliver’s servants. Adam is a faithful old servant of the de Boys’. He is fiercely loyal to Orlando. Charles is Frederick’s official wrestler. Le Bean is a courtier at Frederick’s court. Amiens is an attendant of Lord Senior and a singer. See a full list of characters in As You Like It . Themes in As You Like It: As You Like It is all about love. It is the greatest joy and the greatest healer. The play explores filial love, brotherly love and humanitarian love. Nature is a major theme in the play. Nature heals, restores, redeems. Appearance and reality is an ever-present theme in this play.

As You Like It Play Resources: As You Like It: Entire Play As You Like It SCENE I. Orchard of Oliver's house. Enter ORLANDO and ADAM SCENE II. Lawn before the Duke's palace. Enter CELIA and ROSALIND SCENE III. A room in the palace. Enter CELIA and ROSALIND SCENE I. The Forest of Arden. Enter DUKE SENIOR, AMIENS, and two or three Lords, like foresters SparkNotes Readers' Notes for As You Like It: What is to Shakespeare 'The Forest of Arden' in his play 'As You Like It'? What is to Shakespeare 'The Forest of Arden' in his play 'As You Like It'? by Shehanaz , December 09, 2013 9 out of 10 people found this helpful ‘AS YOU LIKE IT’- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ************************************************************* AS YOU LIKE IT IS A SHAKESPEARE'S ROMANTIC COMEDY, BLENDING WITH LOVE-HEROISM-SENTIMENT-ADVENTURE-AND PURE FUN.

THE FOREST IS MERELY A GOLDEN WORLD, BUT ITS CONTENTMENT HAS DEALT OF THE BITTER LESSONS OF LIFE. (DR.S.SEN) PRONOUNCE THE WORD 'ARDEN'-PERHAPS A PUN BY PRONOUNCING IT A-DEN-- A FOLIAGE OF MATERIALISTIC WORLD. ****************************************************** “The Forest of Arden, according to the play reflects the different -state -of -mind of the various characters of the play itself”-Discuss. “There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Every story narrated or dramatized has an artistic structure which may be called its architectural design. The different elements of the story, technically known as the plot, are characters, incidents and the atmosphere born out of the union of these two. Characters unfolding themselves through incidents which often mould them,or incidents revealing characters through narration and dialogue, are so skillfully adapted to each other and vitally connected as ultimately to conceal the parts in the symmetrical beauty or realized harmony of the whole. Every interesting story arises out of a conflict, absence of which will make it dull and unexciting.

There are, generally speaking, two main movements required to achieve this artistic result- a movement of Complication and a movement of Resolution. Between these two movements the plot will develop through many ups and downs which follow a well-regulated course. Structurally the natural divisions of a drama are fivefold, roughly corresponding to its five acts in the Elizabethan play. “Truths that wake, Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavour, Nor Man nor Boy, Nor all that is at enmity with joy, Can utterly abolish or destroy.” While Romance admits the comic spirit within a corner of the field, the area is strictly limited. Romance and the comic spirit cannot well live together on terms of equality. In Shakespearean comedy, the comic spirit has to minister to the purposes of Romance and not the other way about. The truth of this observation can be seen in how the characters of Benedick and Beatrice, though seen in a comic setting in the beginning, emerge finally as Romantic characters, with both of them acting as the Champions of hero who is subjected to such ill merited suffering. On a lower plane it is true of Dogberry and Verges also.

As Peter Quennell says: “Dogberry like Bottom was intended to raise a cultured laughter.” Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden is an imaginary setting in As you Like it and it is futile and unnecessary to try and find its actual counterpart in the world- whether in France or in England. What matters is that the Forest of Arden has a significant role in As You like It. “Pythagoras said, that this world, was like a stage Where many play their parts: the lookers on, the stage Philosophers are, saith he, whose part is to learn The manneres of all nations.” In such a place, in such an atmosphere, Love is the central light, the infallible intelligence, the chief source of life and happiness. And this love is identified primarily with a young woman. She is the Shakti of this universe; she is beauty, truth and rarity and inspires similar virtues (or values) in her lover.

“For, boy, however we do praise ourselves, Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn Than women’s are.’’ In Shakespeare’s mature comedy-it is worth remembering that in comedy Ben Jonson put him above the classics- he presents ‘a harmonious society in which each person’s individuality is fully developed and yet is in perfect tune with all others’. While keeping to the old principle that comedy portrays characters, he profoundly modified it by deepening and strengthening each separate character, developing the relations between different characters, until the characters became the plot. As You Like It has a systematically worked–out plot. Its principal plot is to illustrate the ultimate happy fate or the denouement of pair of lovers after passing through some struggles and difficulties. This is the story of the love between Orlando and Rosalind. Round about it there are three sub-plots, having the same theme of love between pairs. These sub-plots merge into the main plot in such a way as to leave no impression of their independent existence. The sub-plots are- the love between Oliver and Celia, the love between Silvius and Phebe, the love between Touchstone and Audrey.

All these have happy endings in marriage. The aim of the dramatist in constructing these subplots is to produce the impression that the atmosphere of the play is one of genuine, undiluted love, serenity, joy and peace. The governing idea of the dramatist in constructing the plots of Gloucester and Edmund as a parallel to the main plot of Lear and his daughters. “I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano, A stage where every man must play a part, And mine a sad one,” Arden is not untouched by the world of reality and its sorrows, but it is a place where those who come to it discover certain abiding truths about life. The characters get a conviction that gay and the gentle can endure the rubs of fortune to find happiness in them and in others on this earth. The characters also realize certain truths. The masque of Hymen marks the end of this interlude in the greenwood, and announces the return to a court purged of envy and baseness. As in all comedy the characters realize the truth about themselves through trial and error, and the change is for the better. Thus Rosalind as Ganymede discovers she can play no more but must accept Orlando’s love.

By loving a shadow, the mere image of a charming youth, Phebe discovers that it is better love than to be loved and scorn one’s lover. If we consult the evidence of the play it will be abundantly clear that Love-at-first-sight is the main theme of the comedy, As You Like It. All the lovers in this play, courtiers as well as rustics, follow this kind of love. Rosalind and Orlando fall in love with each other the moment they see each other; and the rest of the lovers following the same course. Such a conception of love is romantic, and Shakespeare has employed unhesitatingly for no less than four pairs of lovers, two from the higher and two from the lower class of society, follow such a mode of romantic love. Whether one agrees or not with such a mode of love one cannot but observe that in this play this motive of love eventuates in the happiness of all the lovers.

In a Romantic Comedy, the main stress is on the story of these loves-a story, says Mark Hunter, “treated seriously, moving through a number of checks and trying complications to a prosperous ending.” It is, besides, “ a story not only of high life, but of the highest in each particular case possibly”, but allied to the main story, there are invariably other stories also, but-like silk threads, of diverse colours-all are cunningly woven into a single texture: “Through complexity of plot if secured a compensating variety, both variety of character-interest, and variety of delight afforded by the alternation of two or more Romantic themes, together with a greater or lesser admixture of pure Comedy, not Romantic.” That Shakespeare is an artist hardly needs asserting in the present day. It is true that his art was probably far less self conscious that that of Milton or of Tennyson, that it was probably more intuitive than aforethought. The distinction, however, is probably not so important as its seems. A great artist does not need rules or conscious analysis to tell him what is good and what is evil. Any analysis that may be necessary may be done sub-consciously. “Shallow. “Here comes fair Mistress Anne.

Would I be young for your sake, Mistress Anne. Anne. The dinner is on the table.”’ The presentation of love on the stage is fraught with grave dangers even when attempted by a great artist; for it has a natural tendency towards degenerating into the ridiculous. Lyric poetry remained the appropriate domain for love’s expression in creative. It was only post-Renaissance dramatists who made a bold experiment in introducing love as an absorbing theme in drama. In the Elizabethan age romantic love often became the main ingredient of novels and dramas. To Elizabethan people “to live be to love, and to love was to love romantically. That was for them a fact of experience.” It was left to Shakespeare and his great contemporaries to achieve a mystical alliance between comedy and romance and to elevate comedy from the region of the farcical and the ludicrous to the realm of the poetic and the romantic. A note of high seriousness often characterized a comedy of love, As You Like it. It is replete with different portrayals of love. “I have seen the day, with good biting falchion, I would have made them skip: I am old now.

And these same crosses spoil me.” Like Thomas Hardy’s Edgon Heath, Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden is not simply a background of the plot; nay it is itself a character, perhaps the most important character of the play. “It has its own soul, a vital breath- that possesses the greatest reformative and constructive power. It reforms the wicked, selfish and cruel Oliver; it softens the aching hearts of the weary pilgrims, who come to it; it brings about a reconciliation between the Dukes, and finally, it is the Forest Of Arden which unties the separate lovers-Orlando and Rosalind- infusing a spirit of love into other characters.” “If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear.” “The play treats of the gifts of Nature and the ways of Fortune. Orlando, given little is brought too much. Rosalind and Celia, born too much, are brought to little. The Duke, born to all things, is brought to nothing. The usurping Duke, born to nothing climbs too much, desires all, and at last, renounces all.

Oliver born too much, aims all little more, loses all, and at last, renounces all. Touchstone, the wordly-wise, marries a fool Audrey, born a clown, marries a courtier. Phebe, scorning a man falls in love with a woman. The play is a little picture of this world, as Hallam observes, but it is a picture in mellow and soothing colours of gaiety.” “I am much sorry, sir, You put me to forget a lady’s manners, By being so verbal.” The practical value of the songs in the play was to entertain the audience with music. The Elizabethans were great lovers of music and they always welcomed songs. While he conceded to the popular demand for songs he introduced into them some significance on the context in which they were sung. In As you Like It we have half a dozen songs primarily intended to heighten the psychological effect of the scene in which they are sung. For instance the song in the Forest scene beginning with “Blow, blow thou winter wind,” has the effect of intensifying the pathos of the situation.

The sense of ingratitude under which the banished Duke is acutely suffering is made more poetical and so endurable, by the beauty of the song and aptness of its sentiments. In the songs of country life which this play contains we find a different significane.These songs (“Under the greenwood tree”) heighten the sense of rural bliss and innocence by expressing through musical words and serenity and peace that pervades the countryside. Thus we may say that the songs in Shakespeare’s generally serve the purpose of intensifying the effect of the scenes and situations in which they are introduced. The world of Arden has not the rarefied atmosphere of an unearthly region; this forest is emphatically real and feelingly earthy. It is subject to the change of seasons; eternal spring does not reign here. The struggle for existence is as acute here as in the city. The shepherd and the shepherdess are not ideal and innocent persons of the golden age breathing the idyllic atmosphere of Arcadia. A heartless coquette like Phebe and an ‘ill-favoured’ Audrey easily capable of deserting her true love for becoming the snobbish wife of a courtier, are found to dwell within its extensive air.

Boas says: “The sentimentality of the orthodox pastoral is entirely absent, and in its place we have the ruddy vigour, the leaping pulse and play of the open-air life that ‘loves to live in the sun’. Never has the charm of outdoor existence found more matchless expression.” As You Like It owes its charm and beauty to the flavor love that pervades the plot. The drama maintains a number of love episodes, which as a matter of fact spring from the main fountain- love between Orlando and Rosalind, but there is another touch of love in the play, which distinguishes it from most of the Shakespearean comedies. It is the innocent yet sincere and penetrating love between the two cousins Rosalind and Celia. “What would you have, Your gentleness shall force, More than your force move us to gentleness.” It is to be noted that the first impression of Arden is not very attractive to any of those who escape to it. “Well, this is the forest of Arden,” says Rosalind in apparently unenthusiastic tones. Touchstone calls himself foolish for having come there. The Forest of Arden is no conventional Arcadia.

It is not a place where the laws of Nature are abrogated and roses are without thorns. Life’s roughness is very much in evidence in Arden. The herd abandons the wounded deer. Winter and rough weather, the season’s differences, the icy fangs and churlish chiding of the winter’s wind invade Arden as often as they invade this hemisphere of ours. Nor does Manna fall to it from heaven. One may come by a sufficient sustenance of flesh ,if one has the weapons and the impulse to make a breach in the conventionality of idyllic Nature by killing its own creatures, the deer, to whom the Forest is assigned a native dwelling place. Rosalind and Orlando will return to live their adult life in the society of men and in civilization, which will impose upon them their duties of extended social responsibilities. “Come, woo me, for now I am in a Holiday humour and like enough to consent.” It is easy to see how As You Like It conforms to the conventions of the pastoral tradition. We find, for example, a plentiful crop of rustic scenes and situations of shepherdess, and all the other associations of a pastoral life.

Even the principal figure of the comedy the heroine herself, takes to the life and manners of the shepherds in the major portion of the play. Rosalind buys the estate of a shepherd in the Forest of Arden and lives the life of simplicity and unsophisticated innocence. Besides, it is as a disguised shepherd youth that Rosalind appears in her best wit and intelligence. Her mock wooing of Orlando, her complications as a girl in the dress of a boy and, finally, her splendid resources of wit in reducing all these complications to an easy and happy ending- all these prove that Shakespeare exploited the pastoral convention in the service of comedy. The songs are a notable feature of As You Like It. The forest would be dead without them. They are all old and plain; no luscious madrigals or quaint eclogues but songs of the greenwood and the holly, of the chase and country love. The themes are all the better for being old-fashioned: they awake the echoes of Robin Hood, and their music and association help not a little to convey that open air feeling that pervades the play, and which mere convey that open air feeling that pervades the play and which mere description cannot always impart.

Here the sylvan predominates over pastoral; we are in Sherwood not in Arcadia, as J.C. Smith says. “He that brings this love to thee Little knows this love in me: And by him seal up thy mind; Whether that thy youth and kind Will the faithful offer take Of me and all that I can make; Or else by him my love deny, And then I’ll study how to die.” By a pastoral comedy we mean a play in which the characters belong to the rustic class, specially shepherds and shepherdesses. The situations of such plays are romantically simple and pure and innocent, and the story usually delineates the peaceful and enviable life of these figures that love and enjoy life in an ideal fashion. They have no cares and burdens. They always get what they wish, and they end in a happy atmosphere of joy and felicity. Such, in the main, are the elements of a pastoral story whether in fiction or in drama.

“Thus men may grow wiser every day; it is the first time that ever I heard breaking of ribs was sport for ladies.” Shakespeare builds up his ideal world and lets his idealists scorn the real one, but into their midst he introduces people who mock their ideals and others who mock them. One must not say that Shakespeare never judges but one judgment is always being modified by another. Opposite views may contradict one another but of course, they do not cancel out. Instead they add up to an all embracing view far larger and more satisfying than any one of them by itself. As You Like It belongs to the group of plays consisting of Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night which are splendid specimens of Shakespearean’s mastery of the comic and dramatic art. These plays are characteristic Elizabethan romantic comedies- plays which satisfied the curiously Elizabethan demand for drama catering to the romantic as well as the comic instinct of the audiences. Neither the extreme of idealism nor those of materialism, as they are variously represented, emerge as “the good life” in As You Like It. through the device of contrast an effective balanced view emerges.

“West of this place, down in the neighbor bottom; The rank osiers by the murmuring stream Left on your right hand brings you to the place. But at this hour the house doth keep itself; There’s none within.” We may, however, note one thing while discussing As You Like It as a pastoral comedy. The pastoral creation of the ancient writers usually verge on the improbable and almost fantastic side. This results in the impression of artificiality in an endeavour to escape from it, but in the consummate art of Shakespeare even the idealization which is inevitable in the application of the pastoral convention is touched with probability and realism with the result that his characters remain endearingly human. Their motives may be romantic but their passions and sentiments are human and worldly-wise. In other words, it may be said that in Shakespeare’s hands the pastoral convention is humanized. The union of Rosalind and Orlando in happy wedlock has been the objective aimed at from the beginning and this is now finally attained, but the crowning achievement of the heroine lies not only in her own happiness but also in winning happiness for others. All the different pairs of lovers have their heart’s desire fulfilled-it is As You Like It.

“We that are true lovers run into strange capers; But as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature In love mortal in folly.” The purpose of the Exposition is ‘to put the audience in possession of all information that is essential for the property understanding of the play.’ It prepares us for the aviation, but it is really independent of the plot proper. In As You Like It the preliminary information consists chiefly of : (a) the banishment of the elder Duke, the unexpected presence of his only daughter Rosalind at the usurper’s court, and (b) the will of Sir Rowland de Boys and the ill-treatment of Orlando at the hands of his elder brother Oliver. Thus the two main threads out of which the love story will be woven are suggested e even at the outset; the hero and the heroine have been introduced in the midst of circumstances which are strikingly similar in many respects. The Wrestling Match is the initial incident which starts the action: and the seed of this great love is shown here. Here is also the genesis of the main conflict between our hero and the heroine on one side and Oliver and the usurper ranged against them on the other.

“O my life, his malice’s against the lady Will suddenly break forth.” “Other and inferior writers would have worked out their descriptions with all pettiness and impertinence of detail” says Coleridge, regarding the pastoral atmosphere created by Shakespeare. In fact Shakespeare has not cared to describe at large these pictured of pastoral scenery: he has as the master artist adopted the unique method of subtle suggestion. By a few strokes of the painter’s brush he has succeeded in creating not only the appropriate pastoral back ground but also a vast and vivid woodland scene studded with some landmarks,e.g., he Duke’s cave, Rosalind’s cottage, the antique oak, and the crawling brook. So superb has been the success of this delineation that we seem to breathe ‘the very breath of the woods and the mountains’. Public theatres of the Elizabethan age had no painted scenes. The dramatist had thus to depend entirely on his own poetic art and his power of stimulating their imaginative capacity of his audience. There are two levels of awareness at work in the scene. The audience’s awareness is at one with Rosalind’s; Orlando’s awareness falls short. To this extent, the climactic scene is structurally simple.

But in, very simplicity it is magnificient.The compensation for the lack of complexity comes the wooing scene in As You Like It is different from similar scenes in Shakespearean comedies. There is in this play different level of awareness and ignorance which make the wing scene all the more interesting dramatically and thematically. The wooing scene, in fact, is the climax as far as the theme of ignorance and awareness is concerned. As Rosalind disguised as Ganymede questions and argues with Orlando who does not know Ganymede’s identity, there is much fun as well as serious comment implicit for audience. “For thou thyself hast been a libertine As sensual as the brutish sting itself; And all the embossed sores, and headed evils, That thou with license of free foot hast caught, Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world.” In the width of the discrepancy in the awareness of the lovers. The wooing scene deliberately exploits this gap in the awareness of the lovers. The wooing scene deliberately exploits this gap in the awareness. The exploitation is not thin. Neither the relation of the participants nor the situation changes at all during the action. At the beginning, Rosalind knows everything and Orlando nothing; it is the same at the end.

However, at the end of the scene. Rosalind’s conviction about Orlando’s love has received a final confirmation. There is a blending of the magic and the comic even in the sunny, joyous and bright comedy of As You Like it. Thus the play opens with a quarrel between the brothers-Oliver and Orlando. The former makes attempts to take the life of the latter. We also get distinctly tragic elements in the sorrow of the banished Duke, which he philosophies away; in the melancholy of Rosalind due to the banishment of her father, which is dispelled by the cheery optimism of Celia; in the pathetic fate of the three unfortunate sons of the old man, who are injured by the wrestler. There is also something like the tragic element in the disappointment of Silvius regarding Phebe. These tragic elements are harmoniously, delicately, and artistically blended with and merged into the comic elements. The court milieu at the beginning of AS You Like It then, is one in which disorder flourishes. Life in the Forest of Arden is contrasted with “that of painted pomp” with the perilous life in “the envious court”.

This is the “court versus country” theme which recurs in Shakespeare in other plays. The fidelity and conscience piousness of the old servant Adam are contrasted by Orlando with the general rule that obtains in this environment. And it is Adam himself who gives what is perhaps the most striking evidence of the disorder that is rampant. It may be well to point out that Shakespeare does not believe that court life must necessarily be corrupt and disordered. In fact he is concerned in As You Like It to point out by implication that escapism is no solution: at the end of the play, we have most of the exiles returning from the Forest of Arden, and we are clearly meant to understand that the court environment has been rid of its evil. Disorder has been set right. “Nay, I care not for their names; they owe me nothing. Will you sing?” In the true order of things a man’s graces and virtues should assist him in his life, but here a man’s virtues are a danger to him, exciting the envy of others. The true order of things is inverted.

Speaking to Orlando he says: “O, what a world is this, when what is comely Envenoms him that bears it!” The Forest has a great deal of influence on the people who stray into it. We see the shady dark green landscape in the background and breathe in imagination the fresh air of the forest. The hours are here measured by no clocks, no regulated recurrence of duty or toil; they flow on unnumbered in voluntary occupation or fanciful idleness, to which every one addicts himself according to his humour or disposition; and this unlimited freedom compensated all of them for the lost conveniences of life. One throws himself down solitary under a tree, and indulges in melancholy reflections on the changes of fortune; others make the woods resound with social and festive songs to the accompaniment of their horns. Selfishness, envy, and ambition have been left in the city behind them. The wit of touchstone is a dainty kind of absurdity worth comparison with the melancholy of Jaques.

And Orlando in the beauty and strength of early manhood, and Rosalind-“a gallant curtle axe upon her thigh, a broad spear in her hand, and the bright tender, loyal womanhood, within”-are figures which quicken and restore our spirits. But upon, no one does the air of Arden work as powerfully as upon the banished Duke. He extracts some useful lessons from his life of banishment in the forest. He draws a contrast between “painted pomp” of court life and the life of careless ease in the Forest of Arden. The life at court is full of envy, malice and ambition. But of, the forest life is sweeter and more “free from peril.” But even, when he shrinks from the cold winter wind, he feels it is better than the flattering courtiers. While the courtiers at court are only enemies in disguise, the cold wind is an open enemy and does not flatter him. The Duke also realizes the sweet uses of adversity. The forest life has many things to teach. Every object in Nature has a lesson of its own. He finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything.

“Thou art not for the fashion of these times. Where none will sweat but for promotion. And having that, do choke their service up Even with the having; it is not so with thee.” “The dramatist presents us with a pastoral comedy of the characters of which , instead of belonging to the ideal pastoral age, are true copies of what nature will produce under similar conditions” (Halliwell). The pastoral poet of convention clothed courtiers in the shepherds’ dress and put into mouths sentiments of an advances civilization. Shakespeare, on the other hand, has given us real shepherds-Corin and William and Audrey, “whose language is the language of the fields, whose hands saviour of the wood and sheep, and whose persons exhale the odour of the goat-pen or the dairy” as Stanley Wood says, but the characters of Rosalind, Orlando and Duke are certainly ideal ones-although like every ideal, they are based on the actual; they represent experiences idealized. “Well, I’ll end the song. Sirs, cover the while; the duke will drink under this tree.

He hath been all this day to look you.” ****************************************************** “My fortunes were more able to relieve her; But I am shepherd to another man, And do not shear the fleeces that I graze:” **************************************** The Natural and the Artificial in As You Like It The Natural and the Artificial in As You Like It Bookmark this page Manage My Reading List Shakespeare's themes are often expressed in terms of oppositions, such as the conflicting values associated with fair and foul in Macbeth. As You Like It is no exception. Running throughout As You Like It is a tension of antithesis between the natural (that which is free, spontaneous, and wholesome) and the artificial (that which is constrained, calculated, and unnatural).

The clash between these two ways of life is seen on several levels: (1) social: in the values associated with civilized society (the court or a great country estate) compared with the value of simple living (the open pastures and the forest encampment); (2) familial: in the strife that sets brother against brother and parent against child; and (3) personal: in the contrast between courtships that are based upon genuine emotion (Orlando and Rosalind) and those that are based on formal conventions (Silvius and Phebe). These various levels are not kept distinct in the play, however, and disorder in one area is likely to parallel disorder in another. The first scene of the play introduces us to organized life on a country estate. Here the close ties that should unite brothers have been perverted. The unnaturalness of the situation is made clear in Orlando's opening speech. He has been kept from his modest patrimony, his gentle birth has been undermined, and he speaks of "mutiny" and "servitude." Oliver's brutal treatment of the faithful servant Adam, whom he addresses as an "old dog," shows that the disorder affects other members of the household as well.

In the same scene we learn of an earlier, parallel perversion of normal family life, but here the roles are reversed, with the young men's father, a younger brother abusing his older brother. The wrestler, Charles, reports that "the old Duke is banished by his younger brother, the new Duke." On the social level, the corruption of the great estate is matched by the debasement of court life. But in opposition to these sinister currents, we witness a strong element of harmony between relations: Celia loves her cousin Rosalind so much that she will follow her into exile or else stay behind with her and die. And we learn too of a harmonious social order established by the banished Duke Senior and his "merry men" in the Forest of Arden. Thus the opposition between court and country, the natural and the artificial, is established at the outset of the play. In Act I, Scene 2, the corruptions of court life are overtly shown; there is little subtlety here. For example, the clown speaks jestingly of a knight without honor who has nevertheless prospered under Frederick, the reigning duke.

Not long afterwards, Orlando, who has just won the wrestling match, is denied the honor due him for his triumph because his father, whom "the world esteem'd . . . honourable," was the usurper's enemy. The natural values subverted in the earlier scenes find glowing representation in Act II, Scene 1 — that is, "painted pomp," "the envious court," and "public haunt" give way to the uncomplicated rewards of a life close to trees and running brooks. Here, the banished Duke Senior and his "co-mates and brothers in exile" find their existence "sweet." But to achieve full contentment they have had to adjust themselves to the natural hardships of their lot — "the icy fang / And churlish chiding of the winter's wind." The pattern of accommodation is one that the various fugitives in the Forest of Arden go through; to them, the forest at first appears wild rather than green, and threatening rather than hospitable.

Rosalind complains that her spirits are weary; Celia is too exhausted to continue; Touchstone frankly declares, "When I was at home, I was in a better place." Orlando and Adam almost starve, and Orlando speaks of the "uncouth [rough] forest," "the bleak air," and "this desert." Oliver becomes a "wretched ragged man" threatened by savage beasts. But all of these characters eventually make their peace with the forest, and even the tyrant, Duke Frederick, is converted when he comes "to the skirts of this wild." For Orlando, the reconciliation is effected when he, along with Adam, joins Duke Senior's feast. The grand movement of the play, then, is from organized society to the country, from constraint to freedom, and from hardship to joy. "Now go we in content," Celia says on the eve of her exile, "to liberty, and not to banishment." Shakespeare's Forest of Arden furnishes the setting against which most of the action unfolds, but it serves as much more than a mere backdrop. The greenwood assumes symbolic stature.

First of all, it is an "idyllic forest." The words used by Charles to describe Duke Senior's life in the forest suggest an idyllic existence, and in the famous pastoral romances of Shakespeare's day, a world is created in which shepherds and shepherdesses sing, pipe tunes, and make love while their flocks graze carelessly in green valleys bright with the sunshine of eternal summer. This golden world, needless to say, has little relation to the actualities of country living in any age, yet it is the artist's fulfillment of the universal longing to flee burdensome realities and find quietude and peace. In Shakespeare's time, no less than in ours, people felt the need for just such an escape. This idyllic concept of Arden is introduced, as was noted, by the rumor reported by Charles in the first scene, and to this Forest of Arden (a name that has since become synonymous with a forest utopia) belong such creatures as Silvius and Phebe, whose names and behavior link them to later Acadian literature. These characters are absorbed entirely in the sighing disquietudes of love, as only the shepherds and shepherdesses of romance can afford to do.

The greenwood of Arden is also, of course, symbolic of an "actual forest." Shakespeare's Forest of Arden is subject to the changes wrought by the seasons, and even the stoic Duke Senior admits finally that he and his company have suffered "shrewd days and nights." Furthermore, the presence of Touchstone and Jaques in the forest provides what one critic has called "counterstatements" to the theme of rural contentment. To Jaques, the exchange of civilized comfort for country hardships is symptomatic of human stubbornness, as his contemptuous parody of "under the greenwood tree" makes evident (II.v.52-59). Touchstone, on the other hand, is an example of Shakespeare's sense of irony about pastoral joys, for he plays the role of a discontented exile from the court. Under the guise of apparent nonsense in his reply to Corin's query about how he likes the shepherd's life (III.ii.12-22), Touchstone mocks the contradictory nature of the desires ideally resolved by pastoral life — that is, to be at the same time at court and in the fields and to enjoy both the advantages of rank, in addition to the advantages of the classless estate of Arden.

This sort of humor goes to the heart of the pastoral convention and shows how very clearly Shakespeare understood it and could use it to its best, humorous advantage. The realities of country living are squarely faced in the characters of Audrey, who is no beauteous damsel; William, who is no poetical swain; and Corin, who is a simple "true labourer" in the pastures. If Silvius and Phebe find their places in Shakespeare's complex Arden, their romancing is presented as frankly artificial, in contrast with both the elemental, biological basis of Touchstone's pursuit of Audrey and the profoundly felt love experienced by Rosalind and Orlando. Thus, Silvius and Phebe, pastoral stereotypes, provide another instance of the opposition between the natural and the unnatural, which is always a dominant thematic concern of the play. As You Like It Essay - As You Like It (Vol. 57) - eNotes.com As You Like It (Vol. 57) link Link As You Like It As You Like It, most likely written in 1599, is one of Shakespeare's most highly regarded comedies and most frequently performed works.

Based on Thomas Lodge's prose romance Rosalynde (1590), the play recounts the love story of Rosalind and Orlando. Roughly divided into three parts, the play features a middle section set in the Forest of Arden, where many aspects of Elizabethan social order are turned inside out. This magical place—where gender roles are reversed, social restrictions loosened, and time suspended—has garnered much critical attention throughout the twentieth century. Scholars frequently compare Arden to the setting in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and analyze the ways in which Shakespeare used this environment to address the social problems of his day, including sexual inequality and changes in the traditional English agrarian life. As You Like It introduces many notable characters, including the clown Touchstone and the insightful, melancholy Jaques—the source of the famous line “All the world’s a stage.” Rosalind, who disguises herself as the boy Ganymede, raises many interesting debates on homosexuality, gender blending, androgyny, and sexual identity. With the rising influence of feminist studies and the application of new historicism, scholars have applied a previously unexplored set of questions to the play.

Chief among them is the nature of gender relations, the role of eroticism, and the degree to which patriarchal ideals are maintained in the play. In addition, emerging historical data about Elizabethan popular culture has given scholars new insight into the significance of sport and the influence of philosophical ideals in the play. Critics note that Rosalind's double role as a female pretending to be a male provides rich fodder for gender studies. The issues about sexuality are further complicated by Phebe's love for Rosalind's alter ego Ganymede, Orlando's complex relationship with the “boy” whom he treats as a confidante about his love for Rosalind, and, most significantly, the fact that all the female roles were played by boys at the time when Shakespeare was writing. What has resulted is a proliferation of studies on the formation of sexuality, the social construction of gender, the significance of gender blending during the Elizabethan era, the politics of sexuality, and the role of homosexuality and crossdressing in English society. Susan Carlson (1987) provides an overview of how thought has shifted among Shakespearean scholars about the role of women in comedies and the critical debate which has developed around this issue.

The first school of thought includes those who have endorsed the theories of H. B. Charlton. Charlton argues that women represent an ideal in the comedy genre, and that they are embodiments of creativity and the keys to happiness. Critics of this school focus on the middle section of As You Like It where social norms are suspended and women enjoy unprecedented freedom of speech and power. A second group of literary critics, in contrast, argue that in the end the norm is restored, Rosalind and Celia become powerless and voiceless wives, and any gains of insight are enjoyed by the males alone. Carlson counts herself among the latter group of scholars who view As You Like It, not as a radical reform of traditional patriarchal ideals, but as a drama which “offers more limitations than possibilities for the women in the play.” She states that while Shakespeare tried to advance ideas on the politics of gender, he was limited by the conventions of his day. Kay Stanton (1989) echoes many of these same views, stating that she believes the juxtaposition between the freedom of the middle scenes and the loss of options in the conclusion was Shakespeare's way of voicing criticism.

Furthermore, Stanton examines the epilogue, a scene which has troubled and puzzled modern critics. In this scene, the actor playing Rosalind professes to be both man and woman in a convoluted display of both genders. Stanton posits that it is only in this mixture of genders that men and women can be equal; however, this gender blending only existed in Shakespeare's eyes through magic. Penny Gay (1999) more fully examines the ramifications of boys playing female roles in Elizabethan times. She argues that Shakespeare produced a more interesting drama than Lodge because Shakespeare capitalized on the fact that boys occupied female roles, creating an intriguing situation of ambiguities and possibilities. Gay believes that although the play lacks plot, audiences find it a favorite because of the erotic possibilities of Rosalind's courtship scenes. Susanne L. Wofford (1994) considers the role of language in establishing meanings about gender in the play. Another area of interest for scholars is the topic of representation and identity. In many ways this topic is closely related to issues of gender, sexual identity, and disguise discussed above.

In her essay on transvestism, Anne Herrmann (1989) discusses the difference between the divided self, as represented by Orlando, and the doubled self, depicted in the characters of Celia and Rosalind. The scholar states that transvestism is not a violation of social norms but highlights social contradiction. She states that merely by donning a disguise Rosalind cannot alter her true nature as a female. The disguise does not signify veiled eroticism but serves as a means of pointing out the arbitrary constructions of social relations, or the means by which we represent ourselves. In her 1985 essay, Kay Stanton also discusses the relationship between disguise and representation, concentrating on the prevalent use of the device of disguise by many of the cast. She states that all the characters have to don disguises in order to mask their true feelings, and all misrepresent who they are. In her explanation of the epilogue, Stanton suggests that it is only through disguise that Rosalind can be both male and female, but, in fact, she represents “the spirit of art,” a necessary component for humans to understand their own identity. In his article on the nature of theater, P. H.

Parry (1998) considers the differences between the role of the characters in As You Like It and the audience. He argues that Shakespeare understood the self-conscious nature of theater in the Elizabethan era, which is markedly different from the emphasis on realism in today's dramas. Shakespeare incorporated aspects of his audience into the drama, at times making his characters part of the audience as they observed the actions of other characters on stage. Parry points out that although the epilogue is troublesome to modern casts and audiences, to the Elizabethans it would have made perfect sense. Emerging historical data about Elizabethan popular culture has given scholars new insights into the significance of sport and the influence of philosophical ideals in the play. For instance, Cynthia Marshall (1993) discusses the role of sport as metaphor, particularly the role of wrestling in As You Like It. She posits that in the Elizabethan theater wrestling played a role both as sport and as spectacle; it was a means of exercise and entertainment and aided in the establishment of the moral order. Stating that Shakespeare was illustrating the ways in which “truth” may be socially constructed, she argues that through the wrestling match even violence can be “socially codified.” In the same vein, A.

Stuart Daley (1993) examines the significance of the hunting scenes which take place in the Forest of Arden. While earlier critics have suggested that the scenes may reflect the social prestige and noble background of Senior Duke, Daley analyzes the scenes in light of what scholars now know about upper class hunts for entertainment versus the woodmen's hunt out of necessity. Applying new knowledge about the cultural and ideological developments of the period, Robert Schwartz (1989) considers the role of Jaques, referred to as a libertine by Duke Senior. Schwartz believes that this term refers to the Familist society, an antinomian sect who believed that man could be freed from natural sin through a spiritual awakening linked to nature. Gene Fendt (1995) juxtaposes audience reaction to the play in Elizabethan and modern times in his study of the cathartic role of the comedy. He focuses specifically on the function of the Forest of Arden scenes which he refers to as “the green world,” linking the role of such characters as Jaques and Touchstone with the inspiration of empathy among the audience. Start Free Trial Start your free trial with eNotes to access more than 30,000 study guides.

Get help with any book. Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'- Forest vs Court Setting Shakespeare Expert By Lee Jamieson As You Like It is set in a forest, but it is difficult to be clear about the As You Like It setting. Some argue that it is the Forest of Arden that once surrounded Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon; others believe that the As You Like It setting is in Ardennes, France. Forest Vs Court The forest is presented in a more favourable light in that the “goodies”, Duke Senior and his court, reside there. All of the good characters in the court are banished or exiled to the forest at the start of the play. Duke Senior describes the court as “painted pomp…the envious court”. He goes on to say that in the forest the dangers are real but natural and are preferable to those in the court “The …churlish chiding of the winter’s wind… even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say This is no flattery” (Act 2, Scene 1). He suggests the harsh conditions of the forest are preferable to the pomp and false flattery in the court: That at least in the forest, things are honest.

continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge This could be compared to the Courtly love between Orlando and Rosalind and the bawdy, primitive but honest love between Touchstone and Audrey. There are also reflections of Robin Hood and his merry men in the lives of Duke Senior and his supporters: “…there they live like the old Robin Hood of England” (Charles; Act 1, Scene 1). This reinforces the positive depiction of the forest as opposed to the negative portrayal of the court. When the evil characters enter the forest they have a sudden change of heart as discussed – suggesting the forest has healing properties. There is therefore a sense of foreboding at the end of the play when the characters are to be restored to the court…we hope that they will bring some of the natural qualities of forest life with them when they return. In this Shakespeare may be suggesting that there needs to be a balance between forest and court; living with nature and using your senses should be balanced with living in an ordered, political world where education and social politeness is necessary. If one is too close to nature they may turn out like Touchstone and Audrey but if they are too political they may become more like Duke Frederick.

Duke Senior has struck a happy balance – being educated and gentlemanly having the ability to manage people but also appreciating nature and its offerings. Class and Social structures The struggle between forest and court also sheds light on the class struggle at the core of the play. Celia disguises her nobility to become a poor woman Aliena in the forest. She does this in order to protect herself, presumably from those who would try and steal from her. This gives her a freedom she has never enjoyed. Oliver falls for her dressed as Aliena and we know as a result, that his motives are honourable – he is not after her money. This is important in that previously, Oliver’s motives have been questionable. Touchstone and Audrey are seen as more lowly characters but as discussed, are possibly perceived as more honest as a result, they are unable to social climb and therefore don’t need to flatter and lie their way to the top. Duke Senior is happier in the forest without the trappings of his dukedom.

Shakespeare may be suggesting in As You Like It, that just because you are considered to be ‘high class’ it is not necessarily reflected in your nature – or that in order to social climb one needs to lie and flatter and therefore people at the top of society are the worst kind of people. However, at the end of the play when the Duke is restored to the court we are led to believe that the court will be a better place but perhaps because he has witnessed first hand what it is like to be poor. He is compared to Robin Hood and as such is considered ‘of the people’.

Question: Which forest features in the Shakespeare play ‘As You Like It’?
Answer: Forest of Arden